abacinate means to blind by holding a red-hot metal rod or plate before the eyes. It carries an Arena rating of 1510, earned across 85 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, abacinate ranks #7 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #33 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #312 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #519 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
abacinate is pronounced /əbˈæsɪneɪt/.
Why “abacinate” is a great word
ABACINATE — [Verb] To blind someone by holding a red-hot metal basin or plate close before their eyes. From Late Latin abacinātus, perfect passive participle of abacinō, possibly formed from Latin ab ("off") + bacīnum ("a basin"). First recorded in English in 1855. Unlike "dazzle," which suggests a temporary, overwhelming glare, or "blinding," a generic term for any cause of lost sight, to abacinate is to enact a deliberate, antiquated cruelty with a named tool. It is the sullen cherry glow of the iron basin in the dim torchlight, the involuntary flinch of scorched eyelashes, and the hiss of evaporating tears before they can fall—a word that proves atrocity has always been a matter of technique, leaving a permanent darkness that began as a blinding light.
Etymology
From Late Latin abacinātus, perfect passive participle of abacinō; possibly formed from ab (“off”) + bacīnum (“a basin”) or bacīnus. Probably cognate with modern Italian abbacinare (“to dazzle”).
verb
- To blind by holding a red-hot metal rod or plate before the eyese.g.“"You young scapegrace," said Dandolo, "I will myself abacinate you — in the Venetian way." "How's that?" "Blind your eyes with the glare, not of hot irons, but of new ducats. Count your pile."” — 1905, James M. Ludlow, Sir Raoul, page 233:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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